Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) is set to consider awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal transportation funding to projects in the region.
TRPC’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will present its recommendation during a meeting on Friday, April 3. Transportation Manager Katrina Van Every is scheduled to brief the council.
The TAC recommends allocating $794,054 in supplemental funding to four projects in Thurston County, Tenino, Yelm and Intercity Transit.
The proposed awards include:
The funding comes from two federal programs, including the Surface Transportation Block Grant and the Carbon Reduction Program.
The supplemental funding is intended to help the region meet its federal obligation target — the amount of funding that must be committed to projects by a set deadline. For 2026, the target is estimated to be between $6.3 million and $6.6 million.
Although local agencies plan to obligate about $10.5 million in projects this year, several are at risk of missing the June 30 deadline. If multiple projects fail to meet that deadline, the Thurston region could lose eligibility for additional federal dollars that are redistributed late in the year.
To reduce that risk, TRPC staff and TAC identified projects that are ready to move forward and could commit funding quickly if awarded.
Under the proposal, all projects receiving supplemental funding would be required to obligate funds by June 30 this year. Projects that fail to meet that deadline could have their funding rescinded.
In addition to helping the region meet its obligation target this year, the supplemental awards are also intended to position Thurston County to remain competitive for future rounds of federal transportation funding.
The council is expected to take action on the recommendations during its April 3 meeting.
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